Machine for the manufacture of asbestos gaskets



vE. NALL, DECD. E. A. NALL, zxscumx.

MACHINE FOR-THE MANUFACTURE OF ASBESTOS GASKETS.

1,374,463 APPLICATION FILED JULY 31. I918. Patented Apr. 12 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- I I I '4 E. NALL, DECD.

E. A. NALL. EXECUTRIX.

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ASBESTOS GASKETS.

APPLICATHANI man my 3|. 191B- Pg t d Apr. 12, 1921- 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- E.NALL, nEc'n.

E. A. NALI. EXECUTRDQ. I MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OFASBESTOS'GASVKETS.

I mom o FILED m a1, 1918. Patented ADI- 1.12, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

tion of 1917, Serial No. 148,830, Patent 1,30 ,788,

EDWARD HALL, DEC s is r ars assrenon no ran eoonrnn man a arenas. scans,on nun, onto, n can...

PORATIQN 0F @HTQ.

HACKER FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ASBESTOS GKETQ.

intense.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 112, T921.

31, 1918. Serial No. 247,698.

Original application filed February 15, 1917, Serial .rio. 148,830.Divided and this application filed July To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDITH Anion NALL, residing at AkromSumi'nit (30.,Ohio, executrix of the estate of EDwARo NALL, de ceased, do hereby makeapplication for Letters Patent of the United States covering theinvention of said EDWARD NALL of Tmprovements in Machines for theManufacture of Asbestos Gaskets, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to the production of a flexible strip ofmaterial from a relatively plastic mass of the material, and especiallyrelates to the manufacture of asbestos askets in the form of integralannuli. lelore specifically, the invention comprehends both an improvedmethod of manufacture and the preferred type of machine which I employto practise the improved method.

This ap lication is a division of applicadward'Nall, filed Februar 15,

June 24, 1919.

Asbestos gaskets, as now manufactured, are cut or stamped in ring formfrom a fiat sheet of the asbestos material. v This not only results inwasteful production, owing to the large number of irregular. scrapsremaining, but also results in the production of gaskets in which theasbestos fibers run at various angles to the circumference, a directsource of weakness in the finished article.

It is with cognizance of these conditions that the present method andmachine for rolling packing strips or gaskets in their desired finishedform from masses of the raw material is provided. It is contemplated asone ofthe principal objects of the invention to produce a packing ringin which there shall be absolutely no .waste of material, and it is acoordinate object to provide a machine and method of manufac turingannular packing strips or gaskets which lays the asbestos fiberscircumferentially in such integral grouping that a greater strength andincreased resistance to blowouts is gained in the finished articlewithout the necessity of added material.

The above and additional objects of a similar nature, which will behereinafter more specifically treated, may be accom-. plished by suchmeans as are illustrated in the accom anying drawings, described in thefollowing specification and then more particularly pointed out in theclaims which part of machine; r 4

' Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken through the mold and the supportmeans therefor, showing the heating mechanism arranged in conjunctiontherewith;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view taken upon the plane of line 55 of Fig. 2.

The method comprised inthe present invention is predicated upon theaction of rolls which are adapted to smooth a mass of the raw packingcomposition into a heated flat mold which conforms exactly to thedimensions of the'finished article. The machine to be herein disclosedcomprises an arrangement of mechanical details -whereby the methodoutlined above may be desirably accomplished and includes means wherebygaskets of different diameters and thicknesses may be producedat will.

Each size of gasket to be manufactured has its own particular moldplate, each plate being provided with an annular channel which conformsto the final dimensions of the gasket to be produced. A pair of rollsoperate upon a mass of material placed in this channel in order tosmooth and compressit exactly to the form of the mold, the latter beingheated while the gasket is 'being rolled therein, to cure, or solidify,the asbestos compound.

Having reference primarily to Figs. 1 and 3, the numeral 10 designates asupport plate which is removable from the machine for the securementthereto of various size molds. This plate rests upon a rotatable heateror support head 11 to which it is secured through the medium of bolts12, the head 11 being radially slotted in the manner denoted in Figs. 3and 4 by the numeral 13, each of the slots 13 being provided with anedge overhang 14 against which the bolt heads abut.

The plate 10 is provided with an annular channel 15 to accommodate therib 16 of the mold 17, fastening means 18 being countersunk through thebottom of the support plate 10 and passin through the annular rib of themold p ate to secure the latter firmly in position. Arranged upon theouter periphery of the plate 10 is a crown gear 19 with which there areadapted to mesh the beveled pinions 20 of the asbestos rolls 21. Theselatter are conoidal and are mounted at an incline in order to rollwithin the fiat channels 22 of'the various horizontal molds which may beused in turn upon the support'plate.

The shafts 23 of the forming rolls are mounted within inclined bearing24, the bearings being supported from yoke members 25. These latter aremounted within cross-heads 26 which are reciprocable within a guideframe 27, their movements bein commonly controlled by an adjusting sha t28 whose extremities are'threaded in opposite directions. A handle 29 isarranged upon one extremity of the shaft 28 in order that the operatorof the machine may control the arrangement of the rolls 21 at the properspacing to correspond with the diameter of the channels 22 of variousmold plates.

A vertical adjustment is permitted the rolls whereby the pressure uponthe mass of asbestos in the mold plate channel may be regulated. Themain element of this vertical adjustment is the screw shaft 30, whoseextremities are journaled within bearings 31 and 32 which are arrangedin the upper and lower ends of the frame piece 33, the latter beingsupported by brackets 34 from the frame arm 35. This latter arm iserected upon the main stand or pedestal 36 of the machine and serves tosupport the various drive elements in a manner later to be set forth. IUpon the screw shaft 30 there is mounted a slidable duplex bearing 37which is formed with spaced cylindrical bearing portions designated bythe numerals 38 and 39. The bearing portion 38 is arranged for movementlongitudinally of the screw shaft and supports a ratchet disk 40 wherebyrotation ma be imparted to the shaft 30, upon whic it is keyed, throughthe medium of a pawl member 41. The other bearing portion 39 of theduplex member is arranged for longitudinal movement upon a countershaft42 which is journaled in vertical alined bearings 43 (Fig. 3). Thisshaft 42 is one of the intermediaries of the drive system, beingemployed as a countershaft for the indirect propulsion of the rotatablemold head 11. i

Mounted upon the bearing port on 39 (Fig. 5) is an eccentric 45 which isada ted lever being connected to a pitman 48 which is thus given anoscillatory movement upon continued rotation of the drive shaft 42.

Mounted upon the opposite'bearing portion- 38, is an oscillatable member49 being formed with a pair of arms 50 and 51 the former being connectedto the pitman 48 and the latter supporting the pawl member 41. I

'In this manner, rotation of the shaft 42 will impart a step-by-stepmovement to the screw shaft 30 so that the rolls-21 will beautomatically fed down against the mass of asbestos material as theforming process of the gasket continues. In this manner, the gradualcompression and solidification of the mold contents is assured. In orderthat the operator may increase or retard the feeding down of the rollsupon the mold plate, therehas been provided a manually operable shaft 52which is journaled in upright bearings 53 carried at the top of the 7frame iece 33. p with a andle 54' and has beveled gear connectionscovered by the numeral 55 with the screw shaft 30, the pawl 41 beinreadily disengaged temporarily, if it inter eres with this manualadJustment. Pawl and ratchet means 55 govern the manual rotation of theshaft 52 in the obvious manner.

' The support head 11 is equipped with'a large drive ear 56 and is alsoprovided with an annular all race57 which forms a bear-- ing cage with acorresponding ball race 58 for the retention of antifriction .bearings59. The ball race 58 is horizontally supported upon the stand member 36,throu h the medium of adjustable means 60 where y the mounting platform61 for the ball race may be leveled up as required. The adjusting means60 preferably comprises thumb screws having bearings within lugs 62formed upon the interior of the walls of This shaft is provided the baseframe 36. The base platform 61 is formed with a large interior aperturefor the accommodation..of heater plpes 63 and 64, the latter leading toa substantially annular chamber 65, formed upon the interior of thesupport head-ll, immediately below the support plate 10. This supportplate 10 and the mold 17 are all apertured in alinement in the mannerdenoted by the numeral 66 which permits a more rapid and thoroughconveyance of heat to all of the separate elements. As shown moreparticularly in Fig. 4, the, endless chamber 65 is indented opposite theradial securin slots 13 of the support head, the norma diameter of this-chamber being much larger than is apparent from the illustration ofFig. 3, which is a section taken through two of the indentationsoccurring along the path of the chamber. The heater pipes 63 and 64 areconnected by elbow joints 67 to respective rotary sleeves 68 and 69,'thelatter being supported upon the main feed pipe 70 which is connectedwith any suitable source of supply. The pipe 63 communicates, throughits sleeve, directly with the inlet pipe 70 and serves as an inlet tothe chamber 65 while the pipe 64 serves as the exhaust for the annularchamber, communicating through its rotatable sleeve 69 with the exhaustconduit 71. This particular arrangement has been adopted owing to thefact that the support head 11 is constantly driven, neces-.

sitating the mounting of the said pipes 63 and 64 for revolution.

The primary drive mechanism includes .the main drum or pulley 72 whichis loosely mounted upon the main drive shaft 73, the

latter being supported within bearings 74 arranged upon the frame member35 and upon a bracket arm 75 secured to such frame member. The ulley 72is formed with a female clutch ace 76 wherewith the male clutch meinber77 is adapted to mate in order to transmit the drive of the pulley 72 tothe shaft 73. Controlling movement of.

the male clutch member, and splined upon the shaft 73, is an operatingyoke 78 which is pivoted at 79 to the bracket arm 75 and terminates in alever extremity 80. A pair of link members 81 and 82 are similarlyconnected to the operating link 83, the link member 8l'having swivelconnections with the yoke end 80, and the link member '82 being mountedfor adjustment upon the frame upright 35 through the medium of the thumbscrew 85. A handle lever 86 is pivoted at the point 87 and has abell-crank arm 88 connecting to one extremity of the operating link 83.

With the parts in the position illustratedin Fig. 2 a movement :of theinverted. lever in a clockwise direction willstraighten out the linkmembers 81 and 82 into alinement, exerting a counter-clockwisemovementupon the yoke lever.80, the amount of such movement being regulated bythe adjustin means 85. When the lever arm is move in a counter-clockwisedirection the male clutch member 77 is forced home into the clutchmember 76, thus unifying the shaft drive, shaft 90 which is 91, a belt92 being utilized for transmission of power between these two sets ofpulleys The shaft 90 carries at its inner extremity beveled gear 93,meshing with the similar pinion 94 which is arranged updn thecouIftershaft 42 in operative relation therewith.

A differential driye gearing has been provided between-thecountershsaft42 and the 7 This difi'erential includes a pair of pinions- 95 which aremounted upon the extremities of a diameter arml96, the latter beingkeyed upon the countershaft 42. The pinions are adapted to mesh with thestationary internal gear 97, which is supported upon the lowermostbearing for the counters-haft-r Loosely mounted upon the latter is theduplex gear 98 which has one set of teeth 99 meshing with the largegear- 56 of the support head, while a secondary set of gear teeth 100engages simultaneously the two difi'erenti al pinions 95.

In the operation of my machine, a channeled mold 17 is secured upon theplate 10 and the latter is arranged upon the rotatable support head .11through the medium of the removable fastening means 12, A mass ofasbestosfcompound, which mayadvantageously include shredded asbestosfibers mixed with rubber cement and benz'in a; similar *ag lutinants andthinning agents the whole gorming a plastic mass, is place within thechannel 22 of the mold plate, and

the mils-21 are then adjusted to the same diameter as the mold channel.The clutch 76-.'7 7 may then be thrown in, the dead cen ter of the linkmembers 81 and 82 forming a method of securing the clutch membeifsagainst all accidental displacement. Tlifesupportfhead 11 and supportplate 10, as a wholeis'thus driven upon the base platform and the rollsare immediately and. automatically fed down against the mass ofasbestos,

the gas et and re- He alsou'ndertakes the acceleration or retardation ofthe feeding down of the rolls .or other forming elements into the mold,channel in order that he may secure the right degree of compressivepower u on the asbestos compound. The admissi dn of steam, or otherheating agent, to the rotating head 11 is. also under direct control ofthe operator through the employment of any suita le valve members, 'w ieit has not been thought necessaryto illustrate in de- From the foregoingit will be apparent that the method herein disclosed is con- 1 30 cernedwith the rolling of a plastic compound into an open faced mold in .sucha manner that any degree of compression and drying may be secured forthe mass, and in such a manner (for the production of an an-- nulargasket from an asbestos composition) that the fibers of the asbestoswill be laid circumferentially with respect to the finished annuluswhose proportions are determined by the mold sizes. A machine is alsodisclosed which includes all of the necessary mechanical elementswhereby the process may be put into eflicient practice for theproduction of asbestos gaskets having every advantage and none of theobjections seen to be inherent with gaskets manufactured under theprevailing processes.

It may be added that the substitution of forming elements of a slightlydissimilar nature for the rolls set forth by this inven-.

, claims of this mvention in the generic sense of an element in movablecontact with'the plastic massto be rolled. Of the same character ofmodification is the construction of cylindrical rolls or of hollowforming elements into which heat may be admitted to supplement the.action of the mold itself.

It will further be apparent that, by the employment of open facedmoldsof the proper shape, in the practice of the method and in the operationof the machine of this invention, strip packing or cup packing of anydesired conformation may be produced without limitation other than suchas may be imposed by the delineation of the invention in theap endedclaims.

What is claimed is- 1. A machine for producing a packing stripcomprising, rotatable shaping elements one of which is adapted to impartrotative movement to the other elements through engagement therewith,the elements having their axes arranged in relative angular relation,means for effectin engagement of the last element with therst element,and means for adjusting the last elements laterally of the firstelement.

2. A machine for producing a packing strip comprising, rotatable shapingelements one of which is adapted to impart rotative movement to theother elements through engagement therewith, the elements material froma relatively plastic mass of the material, a mold mounted for rotationand rolls cooperating with said rotatable mold to secure the compressionand solidification of material placed within the mold.

4. A machine for producing a packing strip comprising, rotatable shapingelements one of which is adapted to impart rotative movement to theother elements through engagement therewith, the elements having theiraxes arranged in relative angular relation, means for automaticallyeffecting engagement of the last elements with the first element, meansfor adjusting the last elements laterally of the first element, andauxiliary means for disengaging the elements.

5. In a machine for producing a strip of material from a relativelyplastic mass of the material, an open-channeled mold of circular shape,and rolls commonly adjustable to the diameter of said mold and operablewithin the channel thereof to secure the compression and solidificationof the contents of said mold.

6. In a machine for producing a strip of material from a relativelyplastic mass of the material, a mold, and rolls commonly adjustable tothe depth of said mold and operable therein to secure the compressionand solidification of the contents of said mold.

'7. In a machine for producing a strip of material from a relativelyplastic mass of the material, a mold mounted for rotation and rollscommonly adjustable to the depth of said rotatable mold and operabletherein to secure the compression and solidification of the contents ofsaid mold.

8. In a machine for producing a packing strip from a relatively plasticmaterial, a mold'mounted for rotation, and rolls cooperating with themold and automatically fed into the rotating mold to secure the'pression and gradual solidification of the contents of said mold.

. 11. In amachine for producing a packing strip from a relativelyplastic material, a mold mounted for rotation, a heating apparatusarranged in conjunction with said rotatable mold and rolls adjustable intwo directions for a variable cooperation with said parades mold insecuring the gradual compression and solidification of the contents ofthe mold. Y

12. In a machine for producing a packing strip from a relatively plasticmaterial, a mold, a heating apparatus arranged in conjunction with saidmold, rollers, means w feed the rollers automatically into the mold andmeans for manually adjusting the rollers in .two directions forcooperation with the mold in securin the gradual compression andsolidification of the contents of said mold.

13. In a machine for producing a packing strip from a relatively plasticmaterial, a circularly channeled mold mounted for rotation; inlet andexhaust pipes of a heating apparatus arranged in conjunction with saidmold; mold support means, and rollers driven from said support means andin such automatic cooperation with said mold as to secure the gradualcompression and solidification of the contents of said mold.

' 14-. In a gasket making machine, a circularly channeled mold mountedfor rotation; inlet and exhaust pipes of a heating apparatus arranged inconjunction with said mold; and rolls manually and automaticallyadjustable in two directions'for operation within the channel of saidmold in securing the gradual compression and solidi- I movable relativeto said supply pipes; and

rollers adjustable withrespect to said mold and operating within thechannel thereof to secure the gradual compression and solidi-- ficationof the contents of said mold.

16. In a gasket making machine, a circularly channeled mold mounted forrotation; a'heating apparatus for the mold including stationary supplypipes and feed pipes movable relative to said supply pipes; and rollersautomatically fed into the channel of said mold and manually adjustableto the channel depth and diameter in order to cooperate with said moldin securing the gradual compression and solidification of the contentsof said mold.

17 In a gasket making machine, a circularly channeled mold mounted forrotation; a heating apparatus for the mold including stationary supplypipes and feed pipes connecting to said supply pipes and rotatable withsaid mold; and rollers commonly adjustable with respect to the channeleddepth of said mold to secure the gradual compression and solidificationof the contents of said mold.

18. A gasket making machine, including a rotatable support plate, acircularly channeled mold removably arranged upon said rotatable withsaid plate and'adapted to cooperate with said mold in securing thegradual compression and solidification of. the contents of the mold.

19. In a gasket mah'ng machine, a rotatable support plate; a geararranged upon the edge of said plate; a mold removably mounted upon thecenter of said plate and rotatable therewith and rollsarranged forcooperation with said mold in securing'the gradual compression andsolidification of the contents of the mold, said rolls being geared tosaid plate gear for positive drive from the rotatable plate 20. In agasket making machine, a frame base; a support head mounted upon saidbase for rotation; a plate removably-arranged upon said support head; amold removably arranged upon said plate; means to heat said supporthead, plate, and mold;

and rolls coiiperating with said mold to secure the gradual compressionand solidification of the contents of said mold.

21. In a gasket, making machine, a frame base; a support head rotatablymounted upon said frame base and provided with an endless interiorchamber; a support plate removably mounted upon said head; a moldremovably mounted upon said plate; means for supplying heat directly tothe chamber of said support head and indirectly to said support plateand mold; and rollers mounted to cooperate with said moldin secur ng thegradual compression and solidification of the contents of said mold.

22. In a gasket making machine, a frame base; a support head rotatablymounted upon said frame base and provided with an endless interiorchamber; a support plate removably mounted upon said support head; acircularly channeled open mold removably mounted upon said plate;stationary supply pipes forming part of a heating apparatus and feedpipes connecting said supply pipes with the interior chamber of saidsupport head, the said pipes being rotatable with the head and servingto heat, directly or in directly, the head, the plate and the mold; androlls mounted to cooperate with the channel of the mold in securing thegradual compression and solidification of the con- V tents of said mold.

23. In a gasket making machine a frame base; a support head rotatablymounted upon said base and provided w th an nterior heating chamber; ac1rcumferentially vchanneled mold plate arranged upon said maticallyfeeding the rolls into the channel of the mold plate, said last namedmeans being driven from said countershaft.

'24. In a gasket making machine, a frame base; a support head rotatablymounted upon .said .base and provided with an interior heating chamber;a circumferentially channeled mold plate arranged upon said islupgorthead; rolls cooperating with said ea solidification of the contents 0said mold; a countershaft; means for driving said .countershaft; meansfor driving said suport head from said countershaft at a re- Euced rateof speed; means for automatically feeding the rolls into the channel ofthe mold plate, and a step-by-step mechanism interposed between saidautomatically feeding means and said countershaft.

25. In a machine for producing a packing strip from a relatively plasticmass of packing material, a forming element in movable contact with theoriginally plastic mass to compress the same; and means regulating thecompressing action of said element upon the mass.

26. In a machine for producing a packpacking material, means for tosecure the gradual com ression and ing strip from a relatively plasticmass of giving definite form to said originally plastic materialcomprising an element adapted to contact with said mass, means forrotating said element, and means for simulta-' neously adjusting thepressure of said element on said mass.

27 In a machine for producing a flat packing strip from a relativelyplastic mass ressing and of packing material, means for pressing and 0giving definite form to said originally plastic material, comprising anelement adapted to contact with said mass, means for rotating saidelement, and means for automatically adjusting the pressure of saidelement on said mass.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses. I

EDITH ALICE NALL,

Ewecutriw of the estate of Edward NaZZ, de-

ceased.

Witnesses:

A. H. LIDDERS, E. C. LEADENHAI.

